Marcos vows to sustain PH education push after PISA gains

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. —AFP file photo MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday vowed to sustain his administration’s education push after the country achieved its strongest performance yet in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The PISA 2025 results showed that the country’s mean scores rose to 373 in science, 371 in mathematics and 367 in reading—up 17, 16 and 20 points, respectively, from its 2022 scores. READ: Group urges lawmakers to reverse cuts to DepEd’s 2027 budget Article continues after this advertisement The Philippines outperformed 14 countries in science, 16 in mathematics and 18 in reading, according to the report. In a video statement, Marcos welcomed the development and credited the gains to the collective efforts of teachers, parents, and communities. “Isn’t that good news?” Once again, this proves how capable our students are—that they are hardworking and serious about their studies, and how good our teachers are, as long as they are properly supported,” he said. “So let us not stop. Here in our administration, we will not stop. We will further strengthen our serious efforts to address these challenges,” he added. Citing the PISA report, Marcos highlighted that the Philippines is among the few education systems improving across all domains and is considered one of the fastest-improving education systems globally, with the strongest long-term improvement in reading among participating systems. Article continues after this advertisement He said the government was only beginning to implement programs and other initiatives aimed at improving the lives of students and teachers. “We will continue all of this. We will continue everything we are doing. We are just getting started. We have only begun building classrooms, providing internet access, computers and school supplies, and printing books,” he said. Article continues after this advertisement “We can see that when we unite in improving the lives of our students, we can truly feel the very positive results,” he added. PISA is an international study that measures the reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. The assessment is administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and involves 15-year-old students from more than 90 countries and economies, typically near the end of compulsory basic education. /mcm